We have a brand new Small Business Spotlight to share with you and this one is all about supporting women! Doctors Kim Laughman, Elizabeth Rottenberg, Alex Andes and Alexis Dunning are four exceptional OB/GYN physicians who have joined the team at The Association for Women’s Health Care (AWHC). With office locations in both Chicago and Northbrook and over 60 years of service, AWHC is more than just a medical practice – it’s a cornerstone in women’s obstetrical and gynecologic healthcare in the Chicago area. If you visit a playground in the city or northern suburbs on any given day, chances are a good number of the children there were delivered by AWHC!
The new providers join Drs. David Baum, Marc Kleinberg, Marc Sibul, Mia Song, and Gil Weiss along with the Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner team which includes Emme Deamont, Melissa Faber, Samantha Kopin-Silverman, and Rachel Small-Tramonte.
These dedicated doctors chose to work at AWHC because of its well-supported, collaborative environment, where providers and staff work in unison to offer a wide range of services, from ultrasounds and lab work to in-office procedures. Affiliated with Northwestern’s renowned Prentice Women’s Hospital, AWHC offers the personalized care of a long-established practice with access to cutting-edge treatments and world-class OB/GYN medical expertise.
In this interview, we’ll hear from the four new doctors at AWHC about their passion for providing top-tier healthcare, their experiences working at such a prestigious practice, and the importance of delivering exceptional, efficient care to women at every stage of life. Welcome doctors Kim Laughman, Elizabeth Rottenberg, Alex Andes and Alexis Dunning!
Left to right Drs. Laughman, Rottenberg, Andes and Dunning.
Hi Dr. Andes, Dr. Dunning, Dr. Laughman and Dr. Rottenberg! Please introduce yourselves.
Dr. Elizabeth Rottenberg: Hi! My name is Elizabeth Rottenberg. I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa and moved to Colorado to get my undergraduate degree at the University of Denver. After medical residency in Michigan I moved to western Massachusetts and practiced for 8 years, gaining a lot of experience and eventually becoming chief of the OB/GYN department at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, MA. Eventually I decided I wanted to be closer to my family and Chicago has always been a city I have loved. When I came to interview with AWHC it felt like a perfect fit, and I am very excited to be working in a city where my brother and parents are. I have a 5 year old son, Julian, who just started kindergarten and a twelve year old daughter, Ellie, who is in 7th grade.
Dr. Alex Andes: I am originally from Wisconsin and I now live in downtown Chicago. I moved to Chicago in order to stay close to my family in Wisconsin. I am currently one of the general OB/GYNs at AWHC who provides full scope care to the women of Chicago.
Dr. Alexis Dunning: I grew up in Columbus, Ohio and moved to Chicago for residency training at Loyola in Maywood, IL. I enjoyed living in Chicago so much during residency that I decided to stay long term! I am one of the new Ob/Gyn physicians in the group. I have been married to my husband David for the past 5 years and we have a new kitten named Leo that we adopted over the summer.
Dr. Kimberly Laughman: Hi! I’m Kimberly Laughman. I’m from Queens, NY and now I call Chicago home! I stayed in New York to complete my undergraduate degree at Columbia University and then worked as a high school science teacher in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn before beginning my medical career back at Columbia for medical school. I moved to Chicago to complete my OB/GYN training at Northwestern, where I fell in love with the idea of being a generalist and spending my career caring for women at all stages of life. In my spare time, I enjoy taking long walks throughout the city (though in the winter months, I prefer hibernating in my house doing puzzles and binge-watching TV), photography and finding new restaurants to try out. I’m always looking for new recommendations from local Chicagoans!
Dr. Elizabeth Rottenberg
What are one or two fun or interesting facts to know about each of you?
Dr. Elizabeth Rottenberg: I am an avid snowboarder, enjoy cooking, good red wine, and LOVE sneakers. My go-tos right now are Nikes and you can find me doing hospital rounds in any given color depending on my mood of the day!
Dr. Alex Andes: I have been a vegan for 7 years! And yes, you can remain a vegan while pregnant and still get all the nutrition you and your baby need. I really enjoy talking to my patients about pregnancy and nutrition.
Dr. Alexis Dunning: I love to cook and you often can find me at a farmers market shopping for my next big dinner party. I love gathering people together and creating fun memories!
Dr. Kim Laughman: Before pursuing medicine, I taught high school biology and photography in New York City. Another is I was a breech baby, born via cesarean delivery!
Dr. Alex Andes (left)
We love a good mantra, please share yours here.
Dr. Elizabeth Rottenberg:“Two things can be true,” and “we can do hard things” are probably the two I tend to say the most frequently.
Dr. Alexis Dunning: I don’t have a specific mantra but I do like to hype myself up before doing a big surgery or delivery. Occasionally you might find me “power posing” outside the door.
Dr. Kim Laughman: I don’t know that I live by any one mantra, as it changes with different seasons of my life. Right now my mantra is “everything happens for a reason.”
Dr. Kim Laughman
Favorite OR or delivery room songs or music artists – go!
Dr. Elizabeth Rottenberg: My operating room go to for music is Kings of Leon and Taylor Swift. During deliveries, though, I want the patient to pick!
Dr. Alex Andes: Always Noah Kahan radio while I’m in the OR. In the delivery room, it’s whatever the patient chooses for her ‘push playlist’. I’m always up for anything to get the energy going!
Dr. Alexis Dunning: I love a good push playlist that is on theme with songs like Push It or Under Pressure!
Dr. Kim Laughman: I always let patients choose the music, but when I have my choice Beyonce radio or 90s r&b are my go to OR playlists. I like songs that put me in the zone and remind me of good times.
Dr. Alexis Dunning
AWHC has been a trusted provider for multiple generations of women in the Chicago area. How has the practice evolved over the years to meet the changing needs of women, particularly?
Dr. Alex Andes: AWHC is a premier private practice that is known for personalized patient care. That’s why we’ve been around for more than 60 years! I am so happy to see how the doctors here have cared for multiple generations of the same family. That’s the kind of relationship I strive to have with my patients. My goal is to empower women by providing them with the information they need to live their best lives.
Dr. Andes, Dr. Dunning, Dr. Laughman and Dr. Rottenberg, the four of you add to the dream team of obstetrics at AWHC. Tell us why you were drawn to this field and this practice.
Dr. Elizabeth Rottenberg: I love obstetrics because it allows me to be part of my patients’ significant life events, like childbirth! The joy of bringing new life into the world fuels my passion for women’s health. I also like doing minimally invasive surgery with robotics and helping women of all ages to understand the basics of female anatomy and how it works. The female body is complicated, and it helps to understand what is happening so that the symptoms aren’t as mysterious!
Dr. Alex Andes: Obstetrics is one of the few specialties where people come to the hospital happy and leave even happier! I love being a part of that. I trained at the University of Wisconsin and decided to move to Chicago to remain close to my family. While I am a general OB/GYN, I have an interest in benign gynecologic surgery.
Dr. Alexis Dunning: I completed medical school at Case Western in Cleveland Ohio and did my residency at Loyola. I was looking for a practice in Chicago and wanted to be somewhere that is hyper-focused on taking good care of patients. I really appreciate the opportunity to build relationships with patients over time, guide them through pregnancy, and support families through a transformative period in their lives. Some of my clinical interests include prenatal care, contraceptive care, and robotic gynecologic surgery. I really enjoy helping patients pick the best birth control option for their goals and lifestyle and getting to know patients through the various stages of pregnancy and womanhood. I love that at our practice, we focus on building relationships with our patients and taking care of generations of women.
Dr. Kim Laughman: I worked alongside AWHC providers while training at Northwestern and based upon those experiences of witnessing such thorough and thoughtful physicians, I knew this was where I wanted to be next. I’ve worked at AWHC for about a year now, and since joining the group I’ve seen what a collaborative environment it is. My goal is to always have a positive impact on all the patients I see and give women the information they need to achieve optimal health.
AWHC Providers (Missing Dr. Mia Song)
As one of the few Northwestern affiliated practices with a North Shore presence which provides delivery care at Prentice Women’s Hospital, what unique advantages does this offer to your patients compared to other practices?
Dr. Elizabeth Rottenberg: It’s huge. Prentice Women’s Hospital is nationally recognized in the area of obstetrics and gynecology. The hospital is uniquely designed to specifically tailor medical care to the needs of women. Our patients on the North Shore really appreciate being able to have appointments at our Northbrook office while still having access to the world class resources at Prentice Hospital. Our downtown patients are so fortunate to have Prentice literally a short Uber ride away. Most of our pregnant patients ONLY want to have their babies at Prentice.
Our audience has a diverse set of needs from moms still of child-bearing years to those who are transitioning to menopause and moms with adolescent children. Can you share how your team approaches individualized care, particularly for women experiencing critical transitions.
Dr: Alexis Dunning: We take the time to get to know our patients’ unique histories and situations to figure out how to best help them. A lot of OB/GYN is about helping women live their lives the best they can and there’s rarely a single solution that works for everyone. We have many different birth control options, hormone replacement therapies or other remedies to help women through these transitions. In order to decide which to use we need to really know our patients and what makes them unique. Similarly in pregnancy, every pregnancy is different, even for the same woman, so we focus on creating a partnership with our patients so that we can meet their individual needs. I see my role as a physician as a guide to gather information from my patients, educate them on treatment options and ultimately make decisions together on how to proceed.
What advice do you have for women who are experiencing perimenopause? How do we know when we are officially in menopause and what is the range of age that this typically occurs?
Dr. Kimberly Laughman: Menopause is defined by a period of 12+ months without getting a menstrual period. If your periods return after over a year, please see your provider because you may be experiencing post-menopausal bleeding and need an evaluation of the potential cause. The average age of onset is 51, but it can occur at different times for different women. As for how to deal with menopause and perimenopause, my advice is to collaborate with a provider. This transition looks different for every woman, and together with your provider, you can find the solutions that work for you.
Please share with us your contact details.
AWHC is currently accepting patients at both our locations. Our Chicago address is 30 N. Michigan, Suite 300 — right across from The Bean. Our Northbrook office is located at 40 Skokie Blvd, Suite 300 at the corner of Lake Cook Road and Skokie Blvd. Visit https://chicagoobgyn.com
